When it was first placed by the lakeside, the stone was carved with runes, but by the end of the Third Age, the elements had taken their toll. The ancient runes could no longer be read, and the upper part of the pillar was broken, but Durin's Stone still stood beside the lake the Dwarves called Kheled-zâram.

Notes

1

We don't know exactly when the Stone was put in place by the Dwarves. It seems most likely that it was erected by Durin the Deathless himself (the fact that it stood in the place where he had first looked on the Mirrormere - something only he could know - implies that he was responsible for the monument).

Though Durin seems the most plausible builder of the Stone, it is not inconceivable that it was put in place by his successors, and so it may in principle date from the Second Age or even the early Third. The latest possible date would be III 1981, when the Dwarves were driven out of Khazad-dûm, but such a comparatively recent date seems unlikely.